Farewell, Charles Wayne. We Love You.

All the little “should have done’s”
The ends I left untied
Fell in tangles round my heart
The morning that you died.

The visit that I couldn’t make
The call I let slip by
All the things I didn’t do…
Now all I do is cry.

It came so fast, since I first heard,
But you’d been ill a while,
And I had never called to ask
Or stopped to see your smile.

It’s true, a nation lay between
Your hospital and me,
But we were nearby branches on
The Thompson family tree.

That tree is being pruned so fast,
Too many final dates,
I've let too many “should have done’s”
Become my “it’s too late’s”

Good-bye CW. I will miss your laughter

A Pensive Night

The silence of a quiet night,
The full moon overhead
The fragrance of a cup of tea
The siren song of bed
The ticking of the kitchen clock
The flickering TV
The barking of a distant dog
The breeze in that old tree
The water dancing in starlight
The lonely heron’s cry
The evening mist that’s rising up
Into the nighttime sky.
And still I sit here in the dark
And dream of things undone
And sigh for things that will not be
And long for morning’s sun.

The Way It Could Have Been

The day began so dark and drab,
In cold, mist filtered light,
that settled in my heart until
I saw the geese in flight.

Their perfect V swept overhead
Into a leftward veer.
Then, as if my heart called to them,
They slowed as I drew near.

And as I watched them overhead
Pivot and then wheel right
I smashed into the car ahead….
Dang those Geese in flight!!!

(Don't panic, I actually caught myself before impact... but it could have gone that way!)

The Maelstrom

The maelstrom of the day has passed
The turbulence, the noise,
Yet, in its wake, can still be found
Some small semblance of poise.
My thoughts spin down, the silence grows
The tempest starts to fray;
The last small fear slips through the mist
And slowly fades away.
There is no sound except my heart,
There is no thought, no light.
And only stillness stirs the room,
A breath upon the night.

Tomorrow it will start again,
For this is just the eye,
But here and now I have some peace.
Tomorrow’s by and by.

Winter is upon us now

Winter is upon us now
I feel it in the rising wind
Winter is upon us now
The days are short, night’s slow to end
Winter is upon us now
The long, unceasing rain’s begun
Winter is upon us now
It’s seldom that we see the sun.
Winter is upon us now
The nights are growing cold at last
Winter is upon us now
The holidays are coming fast
Winter is upon us now
The crackling of an evening blaze
Winter is upon us now
Fragrant, cinnamon scented days

Winter is upon us now
Like Summer, Autumn quickly passed,
And even Winter will not last
But winter is upon us now.

Waiting on the Lord

Waiting on the Lord is hard,
His schedule isn’t mine
I seem to have a different pace;
One that’s less divine.

Waiting on the Lord is rough,
There’s much He needs to do.
And most of it I need right now
Just to see me through.

Waiting on the Lord is hard;
The ticking of the clock
Reminds me that I’m caught between
A hard spot and a rock.

Waiting on the Lord is rough
I’m filled with doubt and fear;
And yet I know with certainty
That He is always near.

So I will match my pace to His
and trust His loving grace.
For I will wait upon the Lord
And someday see His face.

That Quiet Place

I’m looking for that quiet place
Out beyond the night
Where the moonlight lingers still
Though the dawn is bright
Where the leaves are soft and green
Translucent and pale
Where my hopes have not been lost
In yesterday’s travail
I’m looking for that quiet place
Deep down in my soul
Where all the broken, shattered parts
Are once again made whole.